POLICE investigating a string of petty burglaries at a house in Japan discovered an old lady had been secretly living in a tiny cupboard for almost a year.

The woman, 58-year-old Tatsuko Horikawa, was found after the owner of the property in Fukuoka noticed food was going missing from his refrigerator.

He installed security cameras linked to his mobile phone and snapped images of a woman walking around the house while he was out.

Police were called in and officers found the woman hiding in the top of a built-in cupboard designed to store bedding and mattresses.

Behind the sliding door she had laid out a thin futon and had several plastic drinks bottles, police said.

Hiroki Itakura, a police spokesman, added: “We searched the house, checking everywhere that someone could possibly hide. When we slid open the closet door, there she was, curled up nervously on her side.”

Ms Horikawa told police that she had been homeless and moved into the cupboard when the owner had left his house unlocked.

The woman stole no money or other items from the house, but did make use of the shower and toilet.

The police described Horikawa as looking neat and clean. She was charged with trespassing.